“Ah,” Thrawn said, nodding. “I see the misunderstanding. Normally, yes, you’d be correct. But Skywalker is a Jedi; and among a Jedi’s bag of tricks is the ability to go into a sort of comatose state.” He paused, and the image on the screen flickered momentarily. “So there’s still plenty of time for you to join in the hunt.”
“I see,” Karrde said. “Interesting. I suppose that’s just one of the many things the average person never knew about Jedi.”
“Perhaps we’ll have time to discuss such things when I arrive on Myrkr,” Thrawn said.
Karrde froze, a horrible realization shooting through him like an electric shock. That brief flickering of Thrawn’s image—
A glance at the auxiliary sensor display confirmed it: three Lambda-class shuttles and a full TIE fighter escort had left the Chimaera, heading toward the surface. “I’m afraid we don’t have much to entertain you with,” he said between suddenly stiff lips. Certainly not on such short notice.”
“No need for entertainment,” Thrawn assured him. “As I said, I’m simply coming for a talk. A brief talk, of course; I know how busy you are.”
“I appreciate your consideration,” Karrde said. “If you’ll excuse me, Admiral, I need to begin the preparations to receive you.”
“I look forward to our meeting,” Thrawn said. His face vanished, and the display returned to its distant view of the Chimaera.
For a long moment Karrde just sat there, the possibilities and potential disasters flipping through his mind at top speed. “Get on the comlink to Chin,” he told Mara. “Tell him we have Imperial guests coming, and he’s to begin preparations to receive them properly. Then go to pad eight and have Aves move the Millennium Falcon farther back under cover. Go there in person-the Chimaera and its shuttles might be able to tap into our comlink transmissions.”
“What about Solo and Calrissian?”
Karrde pursed his lips. “We’ll have to get them out, of course. Move them into the forest, perhaps at or near their ship. I’d better deal with that myself.”
“Why not turn them over to Thrawn?”
He looked up at her. At those burning eyes and that rigid, tightly controlled face … “With no offer of a bounty?” he asked. “Relying on the Grand Admiral’s generosity after the fact?”
“I don’t find that a compelling reason,” Mara said bluntly.
“Neither do I,” he countered coldly. “What I do find compelling is that they’re our guests. They’ve sat at our table and eaten our food … and like it or not, that means they’re under our protection.”
Mara’s lip twitched. “And do these rules of hospitality apply to Skywalker, too?” she asked sardonically.
“You know they don’t,” he said. “But now is not the time or the place to turn him over to the Empire, even if that’s the way the decision ultimately goes. Do you understand?”
“No,” she growled. “I don’t.”
Karrde eyed her, strongly tempted to tell her that she didn’t need to understand, only to obey. “It’s a matter of relative strength,” he told her instead. “Here on the ground, with an Imperial Star Destroyer orbiting overhead, we have no bargaining position at all. I wouldn’t do business under such circumstances even if Thrawn was the most trustworthy client in the galaxy. Which he’s not. Now do you understand?”
She took a deep breath, let it out. “I don’t agree,” she gritted. “But I’ll accept your decision.”
“Thank you. Perhaps after the Imperials leave, you can ask General Calrissian about the perils of making bargains while stormtroopers are strolling around your territory.” Karrde looked back at the display. “So. Falcon moved; Solo and Calrissian moved. Skywalker and the droid should be all right where they are-the four shed has enough shielding to keep out anything but a fairly determined probe.”
“And if Thrawn is determined?”
“Then we may have trouble,” Karrde agreed calmly. “On the other hand, I doubt that Thrawn would be coming down himself if he thought there was the possibility of a firefight. The upper military ranks don’t achieve that status by risking their own lives unnecessarily.” He nodded at the door. “Enough talk. You have your job; I have mine. Let’s get to them.”
She nodded and turned to the door; and as she did so, a sudden thought struck him. “Where did you put Skywalker’s lightsaber?” he asked.
“It’s in my room,” she said, turning back. “Why?”